IND and MEMORY 




MIND and MEMORY 



PELM ANI SM 
OVER 500,000 
SUCCESSES 
IN ALL PARTS 
OF THE WORLD 



THE PELMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICA, Inc. 
2575 BROADWAY NEW YORK 

ENGLAND 
Pelman House, 4 Bloomsbury Street, London, W. C. I. 

AUSTRALIA 



46-48 Market Street 


Melbourne 


SOUTH AFRICA 
Club Arcade 


Durban 


INDIA 

Chowpatti, Sea Face 


Bombay 


CANADA 

Temple Bldg. 


Toronto 






THE PELMAN INSTITUTE 

President : 
GEORGE CREEL 

Founder: 
WILLIAM J. ENNEVER 

Director of Instruction: 

Dr. DAVID MITCHELL 

A.B., (Toronto) ; A.M., Ph.D., (Pennsylvania) 

Heads of the Instructional Staff: 

MARGARET DANIELS 
A.B., Ph.D., (Chicago) 

GRACE LYMAN 
Ph.B., (Chicago); A.M., (Stanford) 

GROVER T. SOMERS 

A.B., (College of William and Mary) ; A.M., (Columbia) 

EGBERT M. TURNER 

A.B., (City College, N. Y.) ; A.M., (Columbia) 

JOSEPH ZIMMERMAN 
A.B., (City College, N. Y.) ; A. M., (Columbia) 

Members of the Advisory Board: 
T. SHARPER KNOWLSON, Chairman 
S. GRAHAM CONNOR, M.B., (Edin.) 
MORLEY DAINOW, B.Sc. (London) 
P. B. GAVIN, M.A., (N.U.I., Dublin) 

Librarian: 
FLORENCE J. FULDA 

Secretary : 
B. C. McCULLOCH, A.B., (Northwestern) 



NOV 21 1921 



Copyright 1920 by 

Pelman Institute of America, Ine. 

Printed in IJ. S. A. 



C1A628918 



N, 



YOUR MIND 

By David Mitchell, A.B., A.M., Ph.D. 
Director of Instruction, Peltnan Institute of America 

YOU have a brain capable of wonderful things. 
In its organization it is the great marvel of 
life. Composed of millions of units, it is so con- 
structed that each unit plays its definite part in 
the work of the whole. In fineness of operation 
and delicacy of construction any piece of ma- 
chinery as compared to it is crude beyond de- 
scription. 

Because of this endowment that nature has 
given, your brain or your mind is your greatest 
possession. You may have wealth. It may 
have been earned by your own effort, or it may 
have been inherited. Even so, your brain is 
more precious than all else. 

Without it, all other parts of the body are 
useless. The hand will not go where the eye 
wants it. The head and feet work independent- 
ly. The body cannot act as one person. With 
the brain, you have an organized machine. 
Through its operation, eye and hand work in 
harmony. The feet and the head co-operate. 
The finest organization in the universe is com- 
plete. 

The question is — How does this brain work? 
In simple language we want to show you. In 
the first place let us take up its parts and their 



relation to each other. Brain, for our purpose, 
is the whole nervous system. It includes that 
part which is located in the head and also all the 
nerve cells and fibres in all parts of the body. 

At birth this nervous system has some definite 
ways of working already set. Certain other 
ways of working are characteristic of it but they 
do not show themselves until later in life. These 
definite inherited ways of behavior are known as 
reflex and instinctive responses. 

Our Instinctive Responses 

You do not need to learn how to breathe, nor 
need to train your heart to beat. You know 
instinctively how to take food. Whenever the 
lips are stimulated the swallowing movements 
take place. You eat and drink without being 
taught. In the early explorations in the world 
about you, everything you pick up is carried 
instinctively to your mouth. If an extremely 
hot object touches your hand, you pull it back. 
Teaching for this is not necessary. Instinctive 
responses take care of this much of our behavior. 

Take the last illustration and let us follow out 
what takes place. As the hot object touches the 
hand a temperature-sense-organ in the skin is 
stimulated. This stimulation sets up an exci- 
tation in the nerve fibre, which is connected with 
that sense organ. Just what this excitation is, 
or how it works, we do not know. It may be 
like the operation of the electric current. The 
wires are there and the work is done. In the 
nervous system the fibres are the "wires." The 
nerve current travels over them. It travels back 



to the central part of the system on one set of 
fibres and after passing through one or more 
"cells" of which the "gray matter" is composed, 
it comes out again by way of the motor fibres to 
the muscles of the arm. The contraction of the 
muscles, due to this excitation, withdraws the 
hand from the hot object. 

The same principle is operating when we ward 
off an impending blow with our arms. The eye 
is stimulated by the moving object. Nervous 
excitation travels over the fibres leading from the 
eye to the central part of the system. From 
central cells it again travels over motor fibres to 
the muscles of the arm. The result is again the 
use of these muscles to bring the arm into posi- 
tion for protection. 

The Teachable Brain 

Your brain is capable of many responses be- 
sides these original inherited ones. You do not 
know how to write, to play the piano, or to read, 
unless j^ou are taught. Being taught means that 
the nervous system works in a different or modi- 
fied way. When letters or words were first put 
in front of you, they brought no response. You 
did not write; neither did you read. The re- 
sponse of the nervous system had to be developed 
and modified for this kind of stimulus'. 

Your eye saw the queer looking scrawls on the 
paper. But your hand did not at first attempt 
to imitate them. Some one said: "Write like 
this!" You watched how it was done. You 
tried to do the same thing. Your eye saw "a" 



but your hand did not make it until after many 
trials. 

As you made the attempt, what was going on? 
Exactly the same type of behavior as when you 
moved your arm to protect yourself against a 
blow. An excitation in the eye which sees, is 
carried over by the nerve fibres to the central 
system. It is there transferred to the fibres 
leading to the muscles of the arm. Your arm 
and hand moved in response to that stimulus. 

Why then did you not write the letter correctly 
the first time and with as much ease as you now 
do it? The answer is — Writing is not an in- 
herited ability. It is a habit w r ay of acting. It 
must be taught; and the nervous system must be 
modified for this particular purpose. 

Mental Habits 

The modification takes place, through making 
use of certain fibres of this nervous system as 
paths over which special excitations travel. 
When the teacher began, if she moved your arm 
in the right way to write the letter, the learning 
was much easier. The simultaneous moving of 
the arm and seeing the letter brought the two 
nerve paths into close connection. The tend- 
ency for them to work together was set up. The 
next time you saw the letter it was easier to use 
those same nerve fibres than any others. Each 
successive use made that "path" more marked. 
It was soon deeply grooved. The habit of writ- 
ing "a" had developed. 



Most of our mental development depends on 
such habits being set up. You think in a cer- 
tain way. Thus, what you will think under cer- 
tain conditions may be foretold. You meet 
these words: "George Washington was the first 

" How do you fill out the 

blanks ? You will do it as hundreds of others do 
and as you have done before. You have a habit 
of thinking in this way. 

Someone says: "Think of any color." What 
is your response? What word do you think of 
first? Is it not Red? Most people think this 
way. Few think of any other color. The laws 
of association and of habit have operated. Think 
of one thing and certain other thoughts follow 
inevitably in the train. 

It is because of such well known facts that 
Pelmanism as a mind training system is possi- 
ble. In this course of instruction we give enough 
information concerning the laws of thought and 
action to enable you to understand mental opera- 
tions. The chief aim of course, is to set up the 
right mental habits. We want your mind to 
function efficiently. Just as a physical instruc- 
tor develops the body, so Pelmanism trains and 
develops your mind. 

Mind-Wandering 

Concentration and Weak Will-Power are two 
of the characteristics which, almost universally, 
people wish to develop. A cure for mind- 
wandering is an urgent demand of the day. 
Mind-wandering is largely a habit. It is per- 



nicious in its effect, but is overcome by the de- 
velopment of the opposite mental habit. In 
Pelmanism you will find the methods clearly 
outlined, and the exercises prescribed, for the 
development of concentration. With will-power 
the same thing holds true. 

The competition of life calls for people who 
think for themselves, who are not afraid of new 
things, who are willing to take the initiative and 
open up new fields of endeavor. In every person's 
thinking there comes, time and time again, the 
wish to do something worth-while, to make a con- 
tribution that will add something to the welfare 
of the world. The greatest obstacle in the ful- 
fillment of this wish is the failure in originality. 
We fall into the rut of custom and accepted pro- 
cedure. Pelmanism develops originality and 
initiative so that the ruts of custom are broken 
down and the mind is free to make its own ob- 
servations, draw its own conclusions and initiate 
enterprises. 

Your Occupation Needs It 

An inquirer writes: "How can this system 
apply to the mind of the federal judge as it does 
to the mind of the day laborer?" It applies be- 
cause the operations of the human mind are 
fundamentally the same. It makes no difference 
what your occupation is, it is the trained mind 
that makes you more efficient in it. The ditch- 
digger with the trained mind will dig ditches 
better than one with an untrained mind. The 
bank president has no more need for the training 



of the mind than has the man who attends the 
furnace for the heating of the bank. The ability 
to make independent observations, to persist in 
the necessary tasks, to devise new methods and 
take responsibility is as desirable in the man who 
watches the steam gauge as in the man who keeps 
his hand upon the financial pulse of the world. 

In our school training, the chief consideration 
is the acquisition of a certain amount of informa- 
tion and the training in doing certain things. 
The brain is supposed to work automatically, and 
the original capacities are rarely considered. The 
child is taught to read, to spell, to write or to do 
similar things. He is seldom stimulated to ob- 
serve, or to use the sense avenues with which he 
is endowed. The observations which he makes 
are largely through chance. His teacher is not 
supposed or required to show him how he can 
make use of the possibilities of all the senses. 

Do You Really See? 

Pelmanism, on the other hand, develops an 
efficient use of all the sense organs. Most of us 
view situations lazily, and the result is a hazy, 
ill-defined perception. People pass before our 
vision, but it is as though we w T ere looking 
through a fog, and they are nothing but vague, 
shadowy forms. We do not get a clear-cut pic- 
ture as to how the person looks, or what the chief 
characteristics are. Likewise our ears fail to 
differentiate the innumerable sounds which, if 
separated, would mean music — not noise. To 
overcome these difficulties and to enable us to 



get clear first-hand knowledge of the world about 
us, Pklmanism has worked out a set of exercises 
the practice of which will greatly increase the 
clearness of perceptions. 

This is the first step in the development of a 
reliable memory. A fundamental law is that 
memory depends upon the vividness of the first 
impression. Pelmanism goes further and shows 
how in the organization of material, facts are 
readily remembered, which if taken without this 
organization would soon be lost in hazy gen- 
eral impressions. Through the exercises pre- 
scribed by this course of instruction one's memory 
becomes clear, well-defined and serviceable. 

The Science of Right Thinking 

Pelmanism will train you to see things more 
clearly, to hear meaningful sounds where there 
had been only a rumble. It will lead you to de- 
velop interest and driving power, so that the 
necessary job is done. Mind- wandering will be 
cured and concentration will become a habit. It 
will also show you the way to originality, to initi- 
ative and to thinking for yourself. Pelmanism 
will train you to make efficient use of all your 
mental powers. 

Pelmanism is the science of right thinking, 
the science of putting right thought into dynamic 
action. It will help you to use fully the powers 
that you know about, and what is even more im- 
portant, how to discover and use hidden, unsus- 
pected powers. 

10 



THE STORY OF PELMANISM 

By George Creel 
President of the Pelman Institute of America 

PELMANISM is neither an experiment nor 
a theory, but a world idea, a world force. 
For more than twenty-five years it has been fight- 
ing inefficiency and failure in many lands and 
languages. England, Ireland, Scotland, Aus- 
tralia, Canada, South Africa, India, France, 
Italy, Holland and Russia — all have paid tribute 
to the dynamic effects of this time-tested, time- 
proved course in mental training. In response 
to overwhelming demands, the work is being ex- 
tended to new countries, and by special appeal, 
the lessons have been put into Braille for the use 
of the blind. 

I heard first of Pelmanism during a London 
visit in the spring of 1919. Its advertising mat- 
ter filled pages in papers and magazines and "Are 
you a Pelmanist?" was a question on every side. 

It was T. P. O'Connor, "Father of the House 
of Commons," who satisfied my curiosity and 
gave me facts. I learned that there were, at that 
time, more than 400,000 Pelmanists in action, 
figuring in every walk and condition of life. 
Lords and ladies of high degree, clerks and cooks, 
members of Parliament, laborers, clergymen and 
actors, farmers, lawyers, doctors, coal miners, sol- 
diers and sailors, even generals and admirals, all 

11 



were Pelmanizing, and heads of great business 
houses were actualfy enrolling their entire staffs 
in the interest of larger efficiency. In France, 
Flanders and Italy, over 100,000 soldiers of the 
Empire were taking Pelmanism in order to fit 
themselves for return to civil life, and many mem- 
bers of the American Expeditionary Force were 
following this example. 

Pelmanism Americanized 

As a matter of fact, the thing had all the force 
and sweep of a religion. It went deep into lif e, 
far down beneath all surface emotions, and 
bedded its roots in the very centers of individual 
being. It was an astonishing phenomenon, vir- 
tually compelling my interest, and I agreed glad- 
ly when certain members of Parliament offered to 
take me to Pelman House. A growing enthu- 
siasm led me to study the plan in detail, and as 
a consequence, I made arrangements that gave 
me the full right to introduce the famous course 
to the United States. 

Adapted to American needs by America's 
foremost psychologists, operated by an instruc- 
tional staff composed of Americans holding post- 
graduate degrees in education and psychology, 
Pelmanism is now an American product avail- 
able for American use. It is, and I say it ad- 
visedly, the biggest thing that has come to the 
United States in many a year. 

Viewed historically, Pelmanism is a study in 
intelligent growth. Twenty-five years ago it 
was a simple memory training system. Time has 
broadened it. To-day it does not confine itself 

12 



to the training of just this one function of the 
human mind, but scientifically exercises and de- 
velops all of the mental powers. 

Not a Memory System 

The founder of Pelmanism had an idea. He 
went to the leading psychologists of England and 
also to those of America, and said: "I have a 
good memory system. I think I may say that it 
is the best. But it occurs to me that there is 
small point in memory unless there's a mind be- 
hind it. You gentlemen teach the science of the 
mind. But you teach it only to those who come 
to you. And few come, for psychology is looked 
upon as 'highbrow.' Why can't we popularize 
it? Why can't we make people train their minds 
just as they train their bodies? Why can't you 
put all that you have to teach into a series of 
simple, understandable lessons that can be 
grasped by the average man with an average edu- 
cation?" 

And the eminent professors did it ! Pelman- 
ism to-day is the one known course in applied 
psychology, a course that builds minds as a phy- 
sical instructor builds muscle. There is nothing 
really new in it. All of its truths are as old as 
the hills. But it reduces these truths to practical 
use. It puts them into harness for the doing of 
the day's work. 

It teaches how to develop personality, how to 
build character, how to strengthen individuality. 
Instead of training memory alone, or will-power 
alone, or reasoning power alone, it recognizes the 

13 



absolute inter-dependence of those powers and 
trains them together. 

Our Limitless Minds 

The course comes in twelve lessons — twelve 
"Little Gray Books" — each one a guide post to 
success, and the student fills out work sheets that 
are gone over with pen and ink by a staff of 
trained instructors. There is nothing arduous 
about the course, and it offers no great difficulties, 
but it does require application. Pelmanism has 
got to be worked at. 

There is no "magic" or "mystery" about it. It 
is not "learned in an evening." Brains are not 
evolved by miracles. Just as the arms stay weak, 
or grow flabby, when not used, so does an un- 
exercised mind stay weak or grow flabby. 

You can take a pill for a sluggish liver, but all 
the patent medicines in the world can't help a 
sluggish mind. Pelmanism is not a "pill" sys- 
tem. It proceeds upon the scientific theory that 
there is no law in nature that condemns the hu- 
man mind to permanent limitations. It develops 
the mental faculties by regular exercise, just as 
the athlete develops his muscles. It gives the 
mind a gymnasium to work in; it prescribes the 
work scientifically and skilled educators superin- 
tend the work. The "Little Gray Books" are 
intellectual dumb bells. 

I say deliberately, and with the deepest con- 
viction, that Pelmanism will do what it promises 
to do. Followed honestly, it will give greater 
power of self-realization and self-expression, in 

14 



word, thought and action. It will stop wool- 
gathering and mind- wandering. It will develop 
mind, character, personality, giving ambition, 
energy, concentration and self-reliance. 

Americans need it as much as England needed 
it. There are too many men who are "old at 
forty;" too many people who complain about 
their "luck" when they fail; too many people 
without ambition or who have "lost their nerve;" 
too many "job cowards" living under the daily 
fear of being "fired." 

Go Forward or Drop Back 

Original thinking is almost a lost art. We 
look at games instead of playing them. The 
less the mental demand the more popular the 
play. There is music in restaurants because it 
is too much trouble to talk intelligently. Life is 
cut to pieces by deep ruts, with the people in them 
never looking over the sides. 

There is nothing more true than that success 
and failure are next-door neighbors. The suc- 
cess of to-day may be the failure of to-morrow, 
and the inefficient can rise to efficiency when he 
wills it. No one can mark time in modern life, 
much less stand still. We go forward or drop 
back. 

Too many people are mentally lopsided, know- 
ing just the one thing or taking interest in only 
one thing. Of all living creatures they are the 
most deadly. I have seen eminent scholars who 
were the dullest of talkers; successful business 
men who knew nothing of literature, art or 

15 



music ; people of achievement sitting tongue-tied 
in a crowd while some fool held the floor ; masters 
of industry ignorant of every social value; 
workers whose lives were drab because they did 
not know how to put color in them, and I have 
heard men and women of real intelligence forced 
to rely on anecdotes to keep up a conversation. 
The Complete Personality 

The emphasis of Pelmanism is on a complete 
personality. It does away with lopsided de- 
velopments. It points the way to cultural values 
as well as to material success. It opens the win- 
dows of the mind to the voices of the world; it 
puts the stored wealth of memory at the service 
of the tongue. It burns away the stupid dif- 
fidences by developing self-realization and self- 
expression. It makes unnecessary the stereotyped 
in speech and thought and action. 

Nor is Pelmanism bound by sex, class, creed 
or circumstance. Its benefits are as broad as the 
needs of mankind. Any man or woman, no mat- 
ter whether rich or poor, skilled or unskilled, will 
find strength and advancement in Pelmanism. 
The truth of this claim is proved by the books of 
the Pelman Institute of America. A study of 
enrollments shows that every State in the Union 
has its growing group of Pelmanists, and that 
the list includes every field of human endeavor. 
The home, the shop, the farm, the bank, the store, 
the factory, the bench and bar, the office, all have 
their representatives* and the letters show that 
this great system of mental training comes as an 
answer to a tremendous need. 

16 



THE BUSINESS VALUES OF 
PELMANISM 

Pelmanism is able to guarantee advancement 
and increased incomes for the very simple 
reason that it gives workers the qualities that em- 
ployers are hoping for and searching for. Salary 
is no longer the determining consideration: the 
main thing is intelligent service. One of the 
country's greatest executives, speaking recently 
to the writer, made this statement : 

"For every efficient man or woman, there are 
ninety-nine inefficients. Stenographers who lis- 
ten with one ear only; secretaries who can't re- 
member; clerks who keep their eyes on the clock; 
department heads who are afraid to make deci- 
sions of their own; superintendents utterly lack- 
ing in initiative and originality — nearly all of 
them a wool-gathering lot without ability to con- 
centrate on anything but quitting time. Not one 
in a hundred has any real interest in his work 
beyond doing as little as he can for the money 
he gets." 

The same complaint comes from the trades and 
professions: Carelessness, laziness and indiffer- 
ence instead of intelligent enthusiasm, driving 
purpose and quick thinking: A willingness to 
"stay put" instead of the eager ambition that 
fairly begs for new opportunities and larger re- 
sponsibilities. As a result, employers of every 
kind are the hunters today, scouring the country 
in search of men and women who can "deliver 
the goods." 

17 



It used to be the case that one or two lines in 
the "Help Wanted" columns answered every 
business necessity. Pick up the papers today, 
however, and one will find expensive display ad- 
vertisements, such as these: 

"We have an immediate opening for a man with 
tile ability to organize, direct, and get results 
from a staff of salesmen. He must have balance. 
He must have speed. He must have initiative and 
imagination. Above all, he must have personality. 
For the right man, this carries with it the chance 
to accomplish some of the biggest things ever done 
in business, and we wish to leave no stone un- 
turned to find the right man." 

"An industrial corporation offers an unusual op- 
portunity for a man between 25 and 38, who pos- 
sesses forceful personality and good business 
judgment. A place on the Board of Directors to 
the man who can qualify, in addition to a liberal 
salary." 

Initiative ! Imagination ! Personality ! Good 
Judgment! Originality! These are the master 
words of modern life, and it is precisely these 
qualities that Pelmanism develops, strengthens, 
and directs. It opens your mind for inspection, 
letting you see wherein you are strong, wherein 
you are weak, and even as it adds to strength, 
so does it correct weakness. 

The trouble with so many people is that they 
express themselves in day dreams and not in 
action. When analyzed, this is seen to be a mis- 
fortune, not a fault. How can they listen when 
they have never been taught concentration? How 
can they have initiative and originality when our 
educational system tries its best to turn pupils 

18 



into parrots and have them all uniform in type? 
How can they have purpose, and hold to it, when 
our life ignores the fundamental truth that the 
human mind has got to be exercised in order to 
get fit and stay fit? As a matter of fact, the 
majority of workers are doomed to day dreams 
because their training, or lack of it, has robbed 
them of their mental teeth. They can't take hold 
and hang on. The mind, unused to continued 
effort, tires quickly and jumps from one thing 
to another like a grasshopper, 

Self-Realization 

Pelmanism does the simple, obvious thing; 
first of all, it teaches self-realization. Very few 
people really know themselves. They imagine 
they are this or that, and blunder through life 
the victims of their own ignorance. In the second 
place, Pelmanism trains the mind, exercising it 
scientifically, meeting its new strength with new 
tests, until, at the end, there is perfect balance, 
full power and an amazing tirelessness. 

Routine efficiency is not sufficient for the de- 
mands of modern business. The call is for the 
quick, leaping brain that is able to create ideas, 
to find fresh viewpoints, to make decisions as 
logical as they are swift, and to manufacture op- 
portunities instead of waiting for them. Imag- 
ination, courage and resourcefulness are assets as 
real as stocks and bonds. 

The competitive factor is ever present and im- 
portant. There are always the "other fellows" 
to be considered. What are they doing? In 
business, as well as in war, victories are won by 

19 



quick thinking, quick striking. The Germans 
lost Paris because they walked their soldiers 
across Belgium. Armies had always marched, 
and the Germans followed tradition. Gallieni 
commandeered every taxicab in Paris and rode 
his poilus to the Marne. Had any German gen- 
eral possessed Gallieni's imagination, and shot 
his Huns across Belgium in automobiles, the 
French defense would not have had time to form. 

Here is a parallel. It was the habit of a cer- 
tain metropolitan newspaper to carry the elec- 
troplates in an elevator from one room to a room 
seven floors below. A new foreman padded the 
bottom of the shaft and threw down the plates, 
saving an average of three minutes, forty-eight 
seconds. This enabled the paper to place its 
"extras" on the streets ahead of its rivals, a time 
saving that meant success for the paper when- 
ever a big story "broke." 

In the same way imagination and originality 
have always overcome difficulties and ruled the 
world. The Alps had never been crossed by an 
army. It was one of the things that "couldn't 
be done." Hannibal did it. 

Thousands of dollars were being lost by lack 
of means to "keep" eggs, meats, etc. They 
"spoiled" and there was "nothing to do about it." 
A young chap rejected this point of view; with 
initiative which would not be downed, with an 
imagination seeing beyond all difficulties, and 
with originality in the face of discouragement, 
he continued his effort. The result — cold stor- 
age with its unlimited possibilities. 

20 



Business is the Great American Romance. It 
is business that has harnessed the stream, tun- 
nelled the mountain and spanned the river, turned 
deserts into orchards, and made the United 
States the world power in one hundred and forty- 
three years. It calls for the best and it deserves 
the best. It is this best that Pelmanism de- 
velops, trains, and directs. 

Business needs the whole mind, not just part 
of it. It is often the case that a man of vision, 
forethought, initiative, resource, courage, and 
confidence is forced to confess that he has "no 
head for detail." On the other hand, masters of 
detail "fall down" on big problems. 

The Balanced Mind 

The Pelmanist finds no difficulty in assimi- 
lating detail and he rises supreme when big 
issues confront him. His training gives him the 
balanced mind, the alert mind, the mind that is 
receptive and responsive. And that is just the 
type of mind which achieves success with almost 
miraculous ease while other men lag behind, 
puzzled, confused, and inert. 

The appeal of Pelmanism is neither narrow 
nor specialized. The beginner will find the secret 
of promotion in it. The veteran "job holder" 
will get from it new courage, self-confidence and 
a resourcefulness that will lift him above his fears 
and out of his ruts. Executive heads will dis- 
cover that Pelmanism takes up "mental slack," 
tones up the mind processes, and acts as a tonic 
to vision, decision and imagination. Business 

21 



permits no standstill. Those who do not go for- 
ward commence to drop back. 

This great course comes at a great time. Never 
before in the history of American business were 
such chances open to intelligent ambition. Our 
whole industrial and commercial structure is in 
process of reconstruction. A world is waiting to 
be rebuilt. At home, and in the far places of 
earth, great tasks call to the creative, construc- 
tive and administrative forces of American life. 
Old barriers are down, the gates of success swing 
wide, and the ranks of the country's workers are 
being combed for the "right sort." 

Make yourself that sort! 



YOUR UNSUSPECTED SELF 

A RE you the man or woman you ought to be? 
•^^ Beneath the Self of which you are conscious there 
is hidden an unsuspected Self, a thing of sleeping strength 
and infinite possibilities- That Self is the man or woman 
you ought to be. 

It is the Self of power and pride; the Self of courage, 
confidence and decision; the Self that will lift you from 
the ruts of life to the hilltops of ambition; the Self that 
leaves "footprints on the sands of time/' 

It is this unsuspected Self that occasionally rises upper- 
most in some crisis of life after you have set your teeth to 
go in and win and have won. And then you say, wonder- 
ingly : "How strange ! I didn't think I had it in me." 

Let that Self be always uppermost! Resolve to be al- 
ways the man you ought to be! But first discover your 
unsuspected Self. 

22 



Search through all the muddle and chaos of wrong 
thinkings of doubt and self-distrust, and find those fine 
qualities, those powerful potentialities, all those slumbering 
talents which every one of us possesses. 

Developed and used, they will lead you to a higher, finer 
place in life; they will lift you from the dead levels of 
mediocrity to the broad speedway of progress. The human 
mind, freed from slavery to slothful habits, and trained 
to strength by proper exercises, has the drive of a mighty 
machine. 

These statements are not advanced as empty speculation, 
but are stated as facts; facts that have behind them the 
testimony of more than five hundred thousand men and 
women who have studied Pelmanism, that science of Self- 
Realization which bids fair to revolutionize our conceptions 
of "Destiny" and Possibility. 

Educationally, Intellectually, and Socially, Pelmanism 
is a factor whose power must be felt to be fully appreciated. 
To thousands it has been the means of discovery of latent 
mental powers and unsuspected talents. Thousands who 
were wont to go inarticulate through life have learnt the 
joy of Self-expression. 




23 



PELMANISM FOR WOMEN 

THE new status of women is one of the most 
remarkable of all the great w r orld changes. 
Who does not remember when an unmarried girl 
of twenty-five was an "old maid"; when forty 
was the "cap and chimney corner" age for 
women, and when it was "unseemly" that any of 
the "gentler sex" should work outside of the 
home. Fully twenty years have been added to 
the youth of women ; they have escaped from the 
glass cages of tradition and prejudice and there 
is no trade or profession closed to them. 

The one test is capability. Money Making 
no longer says, "I am going to shut you out be- 
cause you are a woman," but it is not saying, "I 
am going to let you in because you are a woman." 
What business demands, regardless of sex, is 
ability to deliver the goods. 

The one great handicap under which women 
labor in entering the world of work is lack of 
training in business ways of thought. Their 
natural abilities are equal to those of men, and it 
is often the case that they have superior intuitive 
powers, but their minds have not been "broken 
to commercial harness." A course in Pelman- 
ism is the quick and authoritative answer. Pel- 
man training develops close reasoning, quick 
thinking, intelligent decision and exeoutive fa- 
cility. Thousands of women Pelmanists have 
written letters telling of their rise to high salaried 
positions of power and responsibility. 

Pelmanism is no less valuable to the women 
who work in the home. There was never a time 

24 



when it was more necessary to run a household 
as a business proposition, making every cent 
count. Capacity — downright administrative 
ability — is demanded today of the wife and the 
mother who wants her home to be a success. 
Running a house is a far more important job 
than running a factory, and a home superinten- 
dent isn't born any more than a factory superin- 
tendent is born. Both jobs call for training and 
Pelmanism gives it in both cases. 

Social Values 

Another point: Pelmanism has social as well 
as material values. It enables one to increase 
income and to win promotion, but it also opens 
the door to a richer, more interesting life. Too 
many women let themselves "go slack," losing 
the keen perceptivities and eager interests of 
youth, and "sagging" mentally, emotionally and 
physically. Pelmanism tones up the mental 
processes, and the result is quickly apparent in 
looks, speech, thoughts and action. 

Amongst the women students of the Course 
are very many who have probably never looked 
at a lesson book since their schooldays, and it is 
instructive to note their pleasant surprise at find- 
ing the study so full of interest. That is one of 
the outstanding features of the Pelman Course 
— it presents principles of profound importance 
in the simplest way, and follows with a series of 
exercises so ingenious and so interesting that they 
constitute an agreeable recreation. 

. 25 



AUTHORITATIVE OPINIONS 

George Lunn, the famous mayor of Schenec- 
tady, New York, has no hesitancy in indorsing 
Pelmanism. He writes : 

"Self-confidence wins. It wins because only 
the man with a completely efficient mind can be 
completely self-confident. Self-confidence is not 
'bluff.' It is not self-assurance. It is the won- 
derful feeling that comes from self-knowledge. 
The man who knows his own capabilities and his 
own aims attempts the things he knows he can 
do — and always succeeds." 

"Pelmanism makes you know yourself. It 
makes you take stock. If pursued in honesty and 
industry, the course cannot fail to be of tremen- 
dous value toany man or any woman." 



THE whole life of Dr. Frederick C. Howe 
has been devoted to the cause of human 
progress and equal justice* His books, "The 
City," "Privilege and Democracy in America," 
"Why War," etc., have done much to stimulate 
the thought of America, and his work as Com- 
missioner of Immigration at the Port of New 
York proved his ability to put great theories into 
successful practice. This is Dr. Howe's opinion 
of Pelmanism: 

"It is one of the great misfortunes that many 
of the simple truths of life are hidden under high 
sounding names. Psychology and psycho-analy- 
sis, for instance, have values for the humblest, 
holding benefits that are as good and tangible as 
government bonds. Pelmanism can, and will, 
teach self-knowledge and with self-realization is 
bound to come self-expression." 

26 



WHAT I THINK OF PELMANISM 

By Ben B. Lindsey 
World Famous Judge of Denver's Juvenile Court 

WHEN I learned that Pelmanism had been 
brought to America by Americans for 
Americans, I was among the first to enroll. My 
reasons were two: first, because I have always 
felt that every mind needed regular, systematic 
and scientific exercise, and secondly, because I 
wanted to find out if Pelmanism was the thing 
that I could recommend to the hundreds who 
continually ask my advice in relation to their 
lives, problems and ambitions. 

Failure is a sad word in any language, but it 
is peculiarly tragic here in America where insti- 
tutions and resources join to put success within 
the reach of every individual. In the twenty 

vears that I h£ve sat on the bench of the Juvenile 

%/ 

Court of Denver, almost every variety of human 
failure has passed before me in melancholy pro- 
cession. By failure I do not mean the merely 
criminal mistakes of the individual, but the faults 
of training that keep a life from full develop- 
ment and complete expression. 

If I were asked to set down the principal cause 
of the average failure, I would have to put the 
blame at the door of our educational system. It 
is there that trouble begins— trouble that only the 
gifted and most fortunate are strong enough to 
overcome in later life. 



Either think back on your own experience or 
else look into a schoolroom in your own town. 
There is no room for originality or initiative be- 
cause these qualities would throw the machinery 
out of gear. Individuality is discouraged and 
imagination frowned upon for the same reason. 
No steadfast attempt to appeal to interest or to 
arouse and develop latent powers, but only the 
mechanical process of drilling a certain tradi- 
tional ritual on each little head. 

What wonder that our boys and girls come 
forth into the world with something less than firm 
purpose, full confidence and leaping courage? 
What wonder that mind-wandering and wool- 
gathering are common, and that so many indi- 
viduals are shackled by indecisions, doubts and 
fears? Instead of walking forward in enthu- 
siasm and certainty, they blunder along like peo- 
ple lost in a fog. 

It is to these needs and these lacks that Pel- 
manism comes as an answer. The "twelve little 
gray books" are a remarkable achievement. Not 
only do they contain the discoveries of modern 
science as to the mind and its workings, but the 
treatment is so simple that the truths may be 
grasped by anyone of average education. 

In plain words, what Pelmanism has done is 
to take psychology out of the college and put it 
into harness for the day's work. It lifts great, 
helpful truths out of the back water and plants 
them in the living stream. 

As a matter of fact, Pelmanism ought to be 
the beginning of education instead of a remedy 

28 



for its faults. First of all, it teaches the science 
of self-realization; it makes the student discover 
himself ; it acquaints him with his sleeping powers 
and shows him how to develop them. The 
method is exercise, not of the haphazard sort, but 
a steady, increasing kind that brings each hidden 
power to full strength without strain or break. 

The human mind is not an automatic device. 
It will not "take care of itself." Will power, 
originality, decision, resourcefulness, imagina- 
tion, initiative, courage — these things are not 
gifts but results. Every one of these qualities 
can be developed by effort just as muscles can be 
developed by exercise. I do not mean by this 
that the individual can add to the brains that God 
gave him, but he can learn to make use of the 
brains that he has instead of letting them fall 
into flabbiness through disuse. 

Its big value, however, is the instructional 
note. Each lesson is accompanied by a work 
sheet that is really a progress sheet. The student 
goes forward under a teacher in the sense that he 
is followed through from first to last, helped, 
guided and encouraged at every turn by con- 
scientious experts. 

This point, that is its strength to me, may 
prove to be the weakness of the course. Ameri- 
cans want everything at once. They love to think 
that they can find something to take at night that 
will make them "100 per cent, efficient" by morn- 
ing. Pelmanism is no miracle. It calls for ap- 
plication. But I know of nothing that pays 
larger returns on an investment of one's spare 
time from day to day. 

29 



SOME WORLD VOICES 

MAJOR GEN. SIR FREDERICK MAU- 
RICE is justly regarded as the world's 
foremost military authority. His analysis of the 
Great War's progress was a daily feature in the 
European press, and his articles appeared regu- 
larly in the great metropolitan papers of the 
United States. Such a man does not lend his 
name to a movement without due investigation, 
and he gives the following endorsement : 

"The Pelman System is not cram or trick, but 
a scientific method training which has proved 
its value to the soldier in war, and it would, I am 
certain, be of the greatest benefit if it were 
adapted to Army training generally/' 

MR. T. P. O'CONNOR, known the world 
over as "Tay Pay," so long a member of 
the British Parliament that he is now r "the father 
of the House of Commons" and for years a force 
in the world through his brilliant articles and 
equally brilliant speeches, is an ardent Pelman- 
ist. He says: 

"Of two young men in business, one takes the 
Pelman course and the other does not. Other 
things being equal, the young man who takes the 
Pelman course will quickly pass the one who has 
not availed himself of this advantage in the race 
of life. 

"Not one person in a thousand who takes this 
course but will find it a distinct benefit as many 
thousands have done before him. 

"The Pelman System is not only unique in it- 
self, but deserves well of the country and of the 
world." 

30 



ADMIRAL LORD BERESFORD was 
England's best-loved "sea dog," and when 
he died recently the whole Empire went into 
mourning. The British Navy was the great pas- 
sion that dominated his entire life, and when he 
learned that Pelmanism was commanding the 
eager interest of officers and men alike, he took 
instant steps to discover for himself whether it 
was a "good thing" or a "bad thing." So thor- 
oughly was he convinced of the benefits of Pel- 
manism that he volunteered a public statement 
from which the following extract is taken: 

"I judge the Pelman System from the experi- 
ence gained during the fifty years I was associ- 
ated with the training of officers, men, and boys 
in the Royal Navy. ... I should describe the 
System as inculcating self-reliance, and the per- 
fecting of the mind, memory, and mental equip- 
ment generally. ,, 

SIR RIDER HAGGARD may well be put 
down as the world's favorite "story teller." 
His novels— "She," "King Solomon s Mines," 
"Allan Quartermain," etc., have been translated 
into every language and read by millions. This 
is his verdict of Pelmanism: 

"I recommend Pelmanism to those who, in the 
fullest sense, really wish to learn and to become 
what men and women ought to be." 

GENERAL SIR ROBERT BADEN- 
POWELL, though famous as a soldier, 
will live in history as founder of the Boy Scouts, 
that wonderful organization that has captured the 

31 



imagination and the energies of every civilized 
country, making for a finer youth and a more 
wholesome manhood. This man, duly conscious 
of the responsibility imposed upon him by the 
trust of countless thousands, endorses Pelman- 
ism as follows : 

"Now, in Pelmanism I find practically the same prin- 
ciples enunciated as in the Boy Scouts training, includ- 
ing even a number of the same ideas in detail. 

"It is because these attributes are common to both 
Movements that my sympathy has gone out to Pelman- 
ism. The Pelmak System appeals to me because it deals 
with the individual, and because it offers to him in a 
practical form the cardinal steps to the development and 
strengthening of mental character, which is the founda- 
tion of success in any line of life. 

"How much or how little benefit he will derive from 
such a scheme depends largely, of course, on the extent 
of the student's previous education and on his own appli- 
cation. I feel, however, that no man— no matter how 
educated, or what his age, or what his profession — who 
seriously takes up the course offered can go through it 
without improving himself in some degree, while to many 
it will assuredly point a path that will help them to suc- 
cessful careers." 



Sir WM. ROBERTSON NICOLL, M.A., 

LL.D., the famous Editor of "The British 
Weekly/' said in an editorial article upon 
Pelmanism : — 

"From the battlefields in France and Italy I have received 
many remarkable accounts of the practical value of Pelman- 
ism to officers and men. A University Professor who was out 
lecturing at the Front found everywhere that the Pelman 
System was being discussed by officers. . . . 

"... We know the coming of a new era is at hand. To 
fit ourselves for worthy life in that new world, we need new 
ideals, new courage, and new strength, and the sources of 
these will be found in the 'little gray books' in abundance by 
the diligent student of Pelmanism." 

33 



A GREAT WRITER'S VERDICT 

JEROME K. JEROME, author of "The 
Passing of the Third Floor Back," "Three 
Men in a Boat," "Idle Thoughts of an Idle Fel- 
low," and one of the world's most brilliant 
authors, publicists and dramatists, is an enthu- 
siastic Pelmanist and gives this open testimony: 

"All book learning depends for its usefulness upon 
memory. We give the boy the books to learn, but we 
take no trouble to teach him how to remember. We give 
him the books first, and twenty years later let him, if 
he chooses, go to the Pelman Institute to learn how to 
make use of them. The consequence is that two-thirds 
of the time he has spent upon his book learning is so 
much of his life wasted. 

"Every youngster comes into this world provided with 
a fine box of tools necessary for his life's work. It is 
neatly packed and nothing is missing. He carries it in 
his brain. It contains Concentration, Observation, Im- 
agination (the Mother of Enterprise), Organization — 
quite a number of useful tools, mostly ending in 'tion.' 
And, above all, Memory. Properly employed, they will 
enable him to accomplish any task to which Fate may 
call him. But nobody shows him how to use them. 'Oh, 
that's all right,' we say; 'he'll find out in time.' So he 
does, with luck, towards the end of middle life, after 
years of bungling and despair. And by a little help in 
the beginning, by the help of Pelmanism — I don't care 
what it's called, I mean by showing him how to employ 
and become deft in the use of his brain — how to observe 
truly and perceive rapidly; how to concentrate his at- 
tention and arrange his ideas; how to think and how to 
reason — above all, how to remember, he might have been 
a useful member of society from the beginning. 

"As it is, he has to trust to hearing about Pelman- 
ism. I am more than willing to help in making it known 
to him. He ought to have been taught it when he was 
young. The sooner he takes it up the better for him 
and for the country. It won't turn him into a genius. 
It won't put more brain into him than the Lord ^ave 
him. But it will enable him to make full use of the 
brain he has been given. Most of us at present are 
wasting it," 

33 



LETTERS FROM PELMANISTS 

THE following extracts, taken at random from 
thousands of letters received from Pelman 
Students, will give some idea of the great value 
of the Course to men and women of every occu- 
pation and business: 

District Nurse. 

I shall continue to Pelmakize, in fact, I don't think I could 
stop now. It is so interesting and such a help. 

Lithographer. 

The principal benefit to me has been in the restoring of self- 
confidence that had been badly shaken. It has assisted me in 
overcoming fear and worry and aroused my interest in greater 
mental improvement. 

I had been drifting whereas now there is a definite course before 
me. I hope to succeed. 

Have calmed down — practically cut out mind-wandering, im- 
proved power of concentration and helped memory. 

Drug Clerk. 

My interest power has improved beyond my expectations. I 
can apply myself to my studies for three hours or more at a 
time without fatigue. Auto-suggestion is certainly putting me 
in trim, for I am rapidly losing that nervousness. In another 
month I feel that I'll be entirely rid of it. 

Sergeant. 

I am thoroughly satisfied with your curricula, and I have 
recommended your course to a number of students of Camp Pike. 

Civil Service Clerk. 
I am a booster, and I think it a wonderful course. 

Trust Clerk. 

I find that I am slowly but surely overcoming the tendency to 
mind-wandering; that I am acquiring a greater power to hold to 
and concentrate on my subjects; and with it has come renewed 
confidence in myself. 

Housekeeper. 

I still have bad habits and never until I took up Pelmanism 
did I realize the advantage of really seeing things. 

I sleep better, never go to bed worrying about the work or the 
weather for next day. Feel cleaner and think clearer. 

34 



Accountant. 
Have already overcome inclination to procrastination, am grad- 
ually improving my ability to concentrate on the subject at hand. 

Lithographer. 
I have more confidence in myself and know, if there should 
come any difficult problems, I will handle it. 

Real Estate Broker. 
My mind-wandering was originally caused by economic causes. 
The monotony of the work so exasperated me that I began to 
feel irritated 5 nervous and gloomy and a job slave, causing me to 
become discouraged by slow progress. I got sick and my physi- 
cian advised me to change my occupation which I did two years 
ago, and I am becoming more self-assertive and active. Being 
of impulsive temperament, my sickness greatly weakened my 
nervous system, but by determination, gymnastic exercise, your 
teachings, and good books I am making a very satisfactory ad- 
vance. 

Telegraph Operator. 
I have been able to tolerate some people and things I felt I 
could not endure. I feel my memory is better and I find my 
work more pleasant. 

Traveling Salesman. 

(a) I see more, hear more, know more, I think more clearly 
and concisely, read with more understanding and interest and am 
surely gaining character. 

(b) The course is designed for the profit of every man, there- 
fore each will find points of greater and of less value to himself 
and should accept the course as a whole. 

The only suggestion I care to make is that I should like the 
Examiners to give me sharper criticism in their remarks. 

Bank Teller. 
I have accepted a position with the Dollar Savings and Trust 
Company as teller in the Foreign Exchange Department. It 
would have been very hard to decide, but for the Pelman Course. 
I also feel that had I not taken it, I would, probably, not have 
gotten this position that means fifty per cent, more money to me 
than the last. 

Bookkeeper and Stenographer. 
Since taking the course I have an entirely new viewpoint in 
life from that which I had last year. One of my reasons for 
enrolling in the Course was to increase my salary, and you will 
be glad to know that I have already done so. When I began the 
Course in Pelmanism I liked my work and was doing it to the 
best of my ability, but I know I have improved and also that my 
self-confidence has increased by its teachings as formerly I should 

35 



never have had the courage to go to see that president of the other 
concern to find out what he thought I was wouth and then to set 
my price to my present employer. 

Secretary and Treasurer. 

Am going at Pel danism again now, for I have proved to my 
own satisfaction that it is worth while. My immediate aim in this 
direction is for an increase of two thousand dollars this next 
year. My salary was increased six hundred dollars per year 
within a few months after taking up the study of Pelmanism. 

It is enabling me to overcome a certain trouble not necessary 
to mention. It is also aiding in relieving my mind along a certain 
subject by giving greater self-confidence. 

Foreman Cabinet Maker. 

I can now, by sheer force of will, check a line of angry thought 
and revert to some pleasant memory. This lesson appears to me 
to be the most easily understood of any — at least I can read it like 
a story book. 

I am satisfied that I note and remember details much more 
easily than formerly. I find that no effort is required to meet 
a group of people and then sometime afterwards call to mind 
the appearance of each, and nearly always with and by some 
distinguishing feature or detail. 

Assistant Purchasing Agent. 

A number of changes in the manner of handling my business. 
I did not think possible a few months ago. I have been able to 
decrease the detail of my work. 

Retired Business Man. 

Has directed my mind into interesting channels, through the 
dull winter months in the country. Has given me a means of ex- 
pression through the written exercises. Has shown me the value 
of correct sense impressions. Has offered a great many exercises 
to develop concentration and memory that if I haven't been bene- 
fited by it, is my own fault. It is as good as a correspondence 
school in thinking could be. 

President Copper Co. 

I believe that these lessons have helped me tremendously in 
looking at the cheerful side of life. 

Naval Officer. 
I am very much pleased with this Course, think it is perfectly 
wonderful. I feel that I have already had my money's worth. 

Cost Clerk. 
The Pelman Course is an eye-opener as others have already 
said. "It cannot be measured in dollars and cents." 

Captain, U. S. Army. 
I have learned two vital truths. (1) In order to achieve suc- 
cess it is essential that the individual have a definite purpose in 



life. (2) Even though a man be well equipped mentally he can 
attain no lasting success where interest in his work is lacking. 
I have also learned many valuable things relative to will-power, 
memory, concentration, and imagination. The chapters on origi- 
nality and the sub-conscious mind have also furnished me with 
new conceptions as to the part they play in an individual's life. 
The necessity of thoroughly training the senses and the import- 
ance of close observation and keenness of perception have been 
impressed upon me and will be of great value hereafter. 

Assistant Fiscal Agent. 
These lessons have stirred up in me a tremendous desire to 
improve myself and I keep thinking about them all the time. 

Trained Nurse. 
My principal difficulty was in selecting the subjects. I tried 
many and thought them foolish. I have persuaded two other 
people to take the course. Their interest is not great. The 
course is helping me more than I can express — 1 want it to help 
others. 

Mining Engineer. 
I passed the oral examination in a mining course with 97% 
and the written with 91%, and I attribute my success in great 
part to Pelman principles applied in learning the course. 

Salesman. 
I am much pleased with the way you criticize as your notes 
and remarks would indicate that there is nothing stereotyped or 
perfunctory in your criticism and advice. In my opinion this 
course from your end of the work is valuable in proportion to the 
degree that each student is handled as an individual, and that I 
am sure you do as far as possible. 

Pattern Work. 

It is with pleasure that I enclose Work-Sheet No. 9. At times 
lessons act on me like a looking glass, L e., they show me what I 
am like. 

Broker. 

In sending you the last lesson of my course, I cannot let the 
opportunity pass without thanking you and say — that I have 
greatly benefited by your instructions. 

Especially useful to me in that though I had spent many months 
in France, and five months in Hospital wounded, thus throwing 
my brain out of gear as regards business, I found on my return 
to business that I was quite as mentally keen and alert as if I 
had only been away for a short holiday, and I felt quite eager and 
confident, quite ready to face the many problems that business 
presents at the present time. 

37 



THE COURSE DESCRIBED 

A Synopsis of the Twelve Chief Lessons Com- 
prising the Pelman Course of Training 

A MERE survey of titles and topics gives no 
more than the barest idea of the course. 
Pelmanism is the product of twenty-five years 
of study and experimentation by master psychol- 
ogists and educators. 

There is not a line in any of the lessons that 
does not represent careful thought and thorough 
testing. Every word is a bullet that drives 
straight at its mark. 

The pride of Pelmanism,, and its strength, is 
in the orderly march of the course. The closing 
lessons, taken by themselves, would prove quite 
difficult indeed, but when reached in their natural 
order, are simple to the student with only a grade 
school education behind him. 

ISTot only does each lesson prepare for the next, 
leading the mind forward to new tests of strength 
and power, but at every point of progress there 
is the aid and guidance of the instructional staff. 
Each student has his own individual instructor, 
following his work-sheets, guiding, correcting, 
advising and encouraging. 

This is the point of Pelmanism. No matter 
what the course, or how cleverly and brilliantly 
its matter may be prepared, it is the personal 
instructional touch that is necessary for results. 
This is what every Pelmanist gets. 

38 



Lesson I— The First Principles of Pelmanism: 

I. Pelmanism at once makes you realize how your 
brain works. You see that all success must come from it. 
You are shown what mental ability is. You learn to under- 
stand yourself and to realize that you have powers within 
you to be developed. You begin the training which in- 
creases your power of observation and, consequently, your 
memory. 

Lesson II — Purpose: Or What Is Your Aim? 

Are you drifting, not knowing where your goal is? In 
this lesson you are shown how to secure a rudder for your 
life, and to develop enthusiasm. You realize the meaning 
of purpose or aim. You see how this purpose develops 
energy, concentration, memory, will and increases knowl- 
edge and self-confidence. 

Lesson III — Knowledge and the Senses 

You wonder why you do not know things. This lesson 
shows you how all knowledge comes through the sense 
avenues, — sight, hearing, etc. It develops the first funda- 
mental tools for reaching a higher position. You are taught 
how to observe and how to reap the benefits of observation. 

Lesson IV — Will and Effort 

The practical training of Will is what you want and what 
this lesson gives. How to make yourself do the work that 
seems so dry and uninteresting, how to get those letters 
written, how to finish that job, — these are the things you 
want to know and these the lesson teaches. Will depends 
on the development of certain mental habits and our exer- 
cises develop them. 

Lesson V — Concentration 

You sit down to read a book or to talk with your friend. 
Suddenly you wake up to wonder what you read or what 
your friend was just saying. You have been "wool-gath- 

39 



ering." In this lesson on Concentration, we teach you how 
to overcome this habit and develop your ability to con- 
centrate. 

Lesson VI — Mental Connection 

Your mind is stored with many memories, but you find 
it difficult to recall them at the appropriate time. This les- 
son drills you in the organization of thoughts and ideas. It 
increases your power of recollection and makes your 
memory stronger and more serviceable. 

Lesson VII — Imagination and Originality 

Your imagination rules your life. During your early 
training, imagination may have been deadened. It needs 
awakening. It is the basis of progress. You must see 
yourself as you wish to be. How to increase imagination 
and develop originality is the chief problem. Here you are 
shown how it is made a workman, not simply a play-fellow. 

Lesson VIII — The Pursuit of Truth 

To have knowledge and be wise means that you must 
seek truth. You are taught how to become a hunter of 
fact. You learn how to follow evidence, not prejudice, or 
wish. We give you the right methods and teach you how to 
use them. 

Lesson IX — On Personality 

Personality is what you want. It is developed by the 
principles given here. Self-confidence is increased. Un- 
reasoning fear is eliminated. Shyness or self-consciousness 
disappears, and you are trained to be yourself and express 
yourself. You are made a positive, not a negative char- 
acter. 

Lesson X — Organizing Your Mental Life 

A book is a look at life through another's eyes. It tells 
you what he thinks of a problem. Does he tell you truly ? 
This lesson teaches you how to give ideas their proper 
value. It guides you in your reading and shows how to 
retain what you have read. 

40 



Lesson XI — The Subconscious 

You will be tomorrow the product of your today. The 
subconscious is like a store house for the experiences, the 
feelings, the emotions, the reactions of the present. This 
lesson teaches the significance of this fact and trains you 
in such a way so that the stored up energy will be a vital 
dynamic force in your life. 

Lesson XII — Pelmanism in Action 

The mind is a unity. In the preceding lessons we have 
taken up different phases. In this lesson the principles of 
Pelmanism are brought together, and in brief, pointed 
sentences, you are shown the whole system in action. It 
has become part of you, and this summary rounds you 
out as a complete Pelmanist. 



PELMANISM AND HEALTH 

IT is obvious that, given a healthy bodily con- 
stitution, the mental state is possible of much 
greater development, because there is no handi- 
cap, no conflicting circumstance or obstacle. 

Believing this implicitly, an easy series of sane 
and comfortable physical exercises are now in- 
corporated as a part of the Pelman* Course. 
If followed regularly, and practiced for a few 
moments each morning, they will help to secure 
for the student that physical fitness which all de- 
sire, that cleanness of body which has its effect 
upon the mind. 

Students of the Pelman Course thus receive, 
for one inclusive fee, a complete and individual 
mental training, as well as a course of health 
training under the direction of the foremost liv- 
ing exponents of mental and physical culture. 

41 



"WHY I NEED THE COURSE" 

THE failures in life are those who hide them- 
selves from themselves; the successes are the 
men and women with enough sense and courage 
to "take themselves to pieces" in order to find 
the weak spots. To be sure, it is not at all 
pleasant to take stock of one's own lacks, faults 
and weaknesses, but unless you see them, recog- 
nize them, confess them, how are you going to 
correct them? 

The thing that wins to-day is the amount of 
efficient brain power that you can call into in- 
stant action. How often have yon gone over 
your own mental machinery. Here, by way of 
example, are the workings of a Pelmanijzed 
brain, one in which power is fully developed. 

Such a brain judges with wisdom and decides with 
promptness and accuracy; yet it remains elastic and im- 
pressionable — never becoming incapable of adapting itself 
to new ideas and new circumstances. The w?itrained brain 
is "old at forty," the Pelmanized brain is young at seventy. 

Such a brain concentrates instantly and completely upon 
any subject with ease: discovers interest in even the driest 
topic. It sifts, selects, and arrays facts, ideas, and ob- 
servations: treating them as raw material from which it 
manufactures that desirable thing we call Experience. 

Such a brain makes right use of its Imaginative and 
Creative powers: two qualities of supreme value but which 
are rarely employed rightly. A well-ordered imagination 
is one of the most profitable faculties of the mind: gen- 
erally,, however, it is rendered useless by being neglected 
or by being allowed to run riot. A Pelman training makes 
imagination a business asset of real importance. 

Such a brain readily absorbs all impressions which come 
to it by Reading, Observation, Hearing or Thought, and 
retains them securely as memories, which it recalls at will. 

42 



There is an entire absence of that painful endeavor to 
memorize or the desperate effort to recall which are so 
tantalizing and usually so fruitless. 

Compare these workings of the PELMAN-tramed brain 
with the workings of your own; does not the difference 
suggest to you the possible cause of most of your difficul- 
ties? Do you not feel that if your brain worked better 
you would be in a much better position? Do you not 
realize that, aft present, a good deal of your brain power 
"goes to waste" simply because you cannot control it 
effectively ? 

Doubt vs. Certainty 

Have there not been occasions when your failure to recall 
a fact, a figure — to identify a person or remember an epi- 
sode — has handicapped you? Have you not experienced, 
sometimes, doubt and self-distrust — hesitation, possibly, to 
make a decision upon some vital matter? Have you not 
chafed at your inability to give effective expression to an 
idea or opinion? 

These disabilities are wholly unnecessary, and they are 
such serious obstacles to progress and success that you 
ought to take steps to remove them. They can be removed, 
permanently, by the Pelman Course, which represents the 
combined work of men who have made Mind and Memory 
their life-long study, and who are recognized as the leading 
authorities upon the brain and brain-training. 

The twelve lessons are so admirably graded, one slipping 
easily and swiftly into the other, that they fit into your 
daily life without a break. Time thus spent, although not 
amounting to more than a few minutes each day, will cer- 
tainly repay you as no other reading ever can; and the 
benefit increases as times goes on. Throughout life you 
reap the advantage. In plain words, Pelmanism will more 
than double the value of all that you read, observe, experi- 
ence, and learn: will increase your interest and pleasure in 
your work : and will enable you to employ your energies so 
that every unit contributes to your success in life. 

You will find these promises fulfilled to the letter. It is 

you who must answer the question, "Do I need this 

Course?" 

43 



"AM I TOO OLD?" 

MANY letters are received from men and 
women of fifty and over, asking this ques- 
tion, "Am I too old to take Pelmanism?" 

One of the strangest, most incomprehensible 
things about a young country like America is 
the determined manner in which we make haste 
to get rid of youth. In England they speak of a 
"rising young barrister of forty-five." Here in 
the United States we regard forty-five as a ripe 
old age. In England, sixty is regarded as the 
very prime of life, the time when men and women 
do their best thinking, their best work. Ameri- 
cans look upon sixty as "doddering." 

As a matter of fact, age is a state of mind. 
You can be "old" at twenty and you can be 
"young" at seventy. It depends entirely upon 
the way you think. Clemenceau, seventy-eight 
years old, recently make this statement : 

"Yes, I have discovered the fountain of youth. 
The secret is simple. Never let your brain grow 
inactive, and you will keep young forever. 

"I am younger today than I was ten years ago, 
because I have worked hard and never have been 
idle. Idleness and old age go hand in hand. 

"I firmly believe it is the weak-minded that 
grow old, and that, therefore, sufficient strength of 
mind must be preserved to vanquish age." 

Pelmanism has its benefits for the youth, with 
mind to be trained, but it has even larger benefits 
for men and women past forty, whose minds 
must be exercised and kept "toned up." No one 
is too old for Pelmanism who has the will to be 
alive, virile and vital. 

44 



QUESTIONS OFTEN ASKED 

I — How much time does Pelmanism take? 

Pelmanism does not ask you for fixed hours of attend- 
ance and set times for study. It fits into your time instead 
of demanding that your time fit into it. Half an hour 
daily should enable the student to complete the lessons in 
three to six months. 

II — What education is necessary? 

If you have had an ordinary school education you will find 
nothing in Pelmanism which you cannot understand. This 
does not mean that you must have gone to school a fixed 
number of years. Many of our students have been to 
school only a year or two. If you read a newspaper with 
understanding, your education is sufficient. 

Ill — Is the instruction individual? 

Yes. The same instructor follows you through the 
course from beginning to end. Each Work-Sheet is re- 
turned to you with the pen and ink corrections and com- 
ments of the instructor. Whenever necessary, personal 
letters go out to you. If within calling distance, personal 
interviews are welcomed, otherwise personal letters may be 
written and are quickly and fully answered. 

IV — Are results permanent? 

Absolutely. There is this to remember, however. The 
man who is put on the right road to physical health must 
continue to respect physical laws, otherwise his health de- 
clines once more. It is the same in the mental world. 
Pelmanism shows a man how to use his mind in the best 
way, and only if he becomes careless can be possibly lose 
what he has gained. 

V — Are there any extra expenses? 

None whatever. The fee covers everything in the way 
of text books, instruction, question forms, individual letters, 
and correction of exercises. There is no expense beyond 
the fixed fee. 

45 



VI — Must the course be finished in a given time? 

Students are expected to complete the Course within 
twelve months of enrollment, but more time is allowed when 
circumstances warrant. 

VII — How are time payments related to lessons? 

If you take the Course on the/ installment payment plan, 
your progress has nothing to do with your monthly re- 
mittance. We allow you the necessary time to complete 
the Course. It is your right to send in Work-Sheets when- 
ever you see fit. The Course is left to your convenience. 
Installments, however, are fixed amounts due at thirty-day 
intervals. 

VIII — Can I allow my friends and members of the family 
to read my course? 

In the enrollment blank you will note the agreement 
that you will not teach the system or dispose of the 
Text-Books or Work-Sheets. However, we are always 
willing to give a broaji interpretation of this and we would 
in the main leave the question entirely to the honor and 
integrity of the subscriber. The chief benefit of the course 
is its individual instruction, and of course the more personal 
and individual this instruction the greater the benefit. 

"Once a Pelmanist, always a Pelmanist." You are 
as free to make use of the services of the Instructional Staff 
in a year or five years as while you are actually studying 
the course. 

THE Pelmak Institute's Course of Instruction is personaJ 
to the student and given conditionally on the student's under- 
taking not to teach the System or dispose of the Text Books 
and Work-Sheets supplied. The Institute trusts to the honor and 
integrity of the student to keep the agreement. 

It is a distinct condition of the Instruction that a student 
shall not demand or be entitled to any succeeding lesson of the 
Course until the Work-Sheet on the preceding book shall have 
been worked by the student to the Instructor's satisfaction. The 
Text Books issued to the students are to enable the Pelman 
Course to be conducted by Correspondence, and are not to be 
considered as a sale of books in return for the fee paid. 
Fourth Edition 

46 



ENROLLMENT FORM 

for THE PELMAN INSTITUTE 
COURSE OF MIND TRAINING 



To the Secretary 

THE PELMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICA 

2575 Broadway, NEW YORK, N. Y. 

p LEASE enroll me as a student for "The Pel- 
* man Institute" complete course of corre- 
spondence instruction in mind training, for 
which I enclose $50.00 to be accepted in full 
payment. I agree to observe .the conditions 
under which the instruction is given. ( See bot- 
tom page 46.) 



Name 



Street address 

City ...State 

Occupation 

Date 



If cash is sent be sure to send it by registered mail. 

Checks and money orders should be made payable to 

THE PELMAN INSTITUTE OF AMERICA. 

47 



PLEASE ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS 

All Replies Will Be Treated Confidentially 

(1) Is your power of concentration strong or weak? 

(2) Is your memory good or poor? 

(3) Do you lack confidence in yourself? 

(4) If you lack power of concentration, have you reason to 
believe that you inherited this disability, or was it acquired 
at 6chool, in consequence of the unattractiveness of your 
studies ? 



(5) Has there been a change for the worse in your memory? 
If so, can you indicate the cause? Has it been since a 
particular illness, a great trouble, excessive mental toil, 
or some physical injury? State the nature of the illness 
or shock. 



(6) To what extent is "interest-power" necessary for persistent 
effort? Can you carry through an uninteresting task by 
"will-power" alone? 



(7) Can you attend to a conversation or read for any length 
of time without your mind wandering? 

(8) Do you suffer much from self-consciousness or shyness? 



(9) What is the general condition of your health at the present 
time? 



48 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS^ 



020 



99 791 < 



Opportunity 




T IS THE COMMON BELIEF 

that Opportunity knocks once, and 
having knocked returns no more* 
This is what Gilbert Chesterton would 
call the Ultimate Lie. 



Opportunity is not content, and never has been 
content, with any single summons/ It is not even 
the case that she comes and goes* Opportunity stays. 

Her home is not in the clouds, but right on the 
doorstep of every-day life. Instead of a single 
tap, her knock is the continuous drumming of a 
machine gun. 

Each day offers men and women the chances that 
they missed yesterday. Tomorrow was never a big- 
ger or more inspiring word. 

There is no excuse for failure when every gate to 
advancement is wide open. Those who fall back or 
who stand still, have only themselves to blame. Their 
obstacles are not in front of them, but inside them. 

It is the self-starter that the world needs today — 
the man or the woman who figures each morning as 
a new race with a fighting chance to finish first. 



